Perennials
Planning Your Pollinator Garden: Native Perennials for Bees
As you plan your landscape this year, why not include a pollinator garden to help challenged bees? The truth is, a pollinator garden will attract and support many species beyond bees, and will also improve the overall health of your ecosystem. I suggest that you include signage in your pollinator garden (Xerces Society is one good source) and make a…
Read MoreLatest Research on Honey Bee Deaths: What Does it Mean for EcoBeneficial Gardeners?
A new research study was released this week that points to a variant of Tobacco Ringspot Virus as a possible culprit in the phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). The study was conducted by a group of researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing, Emory University and the University of North…
Read MoreTo Mulch or Not to Mulch: Protecting Plants in Winter
As winter creeps up on us and the ground starts to freeze in many parts of the country, you may be wondering if you should use mulch to protect your plants. You may know that I recommend leaving fallen leaves in place to act as nature’s mulch and compost. Ditto for any fallen plant debris, assuming that those plants have…
Read MoreMeadowscaping: A Perfect Alternative to Lawns
You might be thinking about doing some planting this fall. Why not consider planting a native meadowscape: a meadow or a meadow-like garden? Meadowscapes are fantastic ecological alternatives to lifeless lawns (“green deserts”). Whether you have a tiny yard or an expansive landscape, you can create a native meadowscape and give your landscape a big ecological boost. Bees, butterflies, other…
Read MoreThe Native Flora-Fauna Connection: The Complexity of Native Plants
I recently had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Doug Tallamy speak again. For those of you who have not yet read his book, “Bringing Nature Home,” I encourage you to rev up your Amazon account or drive to a bookstore (remember those?) and buy his book today. Tallamy is an entomologist, specializing in lepidoptera (butterflies, skippers + moths), and has…
Read MoreHelping Bees in Crisis: 7 Steps to Creating a Bee-Friendly Landscape
A version of this post was just published in the magazine, Westchester Home. Read below, or follow this link to the published version: http://www.westchestermagazine.com/Westchester-Magazine/Westchester-Home/Summer-2013/How-to-Grow-a-Garden-that-Fosters-Bee-Activity-and-Pollination/ Please share this post with family and friends. Knowledge is power! If we all garden this way, we can help bees in crisis. The European honey bee and many of our 4,000 species of native bees…
Read MoreYour Favorite Native Plants: Cutleaf Coneflower
Autumn Thomas had the final winning entry to the EcoBeneficial t-shirt contest: “I’m going to go with Cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) even though it’s a tad aggressive, I see hundreds of bees, beetles and lepidoptera (butterflies, skippers and moths) on it every year. Then, after it goes to seed flocks of goldfinches arrive!” Wondering if Cutleaf Coneflower would be a…
Read MoreYour Favorite Native Plants: Skunk Cabbage
Here is another winning entry to the EcoBeneficial t-shirt competition from Kay Wulff, answering: “What is Your Favorite Native Plant and Why?” “Skunk Cabbage is my favorite native plant. It is so original, showing its flower before all others in spring. It has adapted to live in the wet lands where many people do not dare to go. It creates…
Read MoreFavorite Native Plants: Monarda fistulosa (Wild Bergamot)
Here is one of the winning entries to the EcoBeneficial t-shirt competition: “What’s Your Favorite Native Plant and Why” from winner Kay Davis: “I would have to say bergamot is one of my favorite plants… When in bloom its beauty is stunning, attracting hummingbirds and butterflies not to mention an assortment of various bees. The blooms are not only attractive…
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